Published: September 27, 2025
From 04th to 10th September 2025, Berlin, Germany hosted the Pilot Training for Youth Workers activity (TOT) based on the “EcoTruth 101: Decoding Greenwashing” program developed by the GreenGuard project consortium. Over the course of five days of activities, 12 youth workers from Italy, Portugal, Croatia, and Germany came together to strengthen their understanding of environmental sustainability and develop the skills to identify, analyse, and counter greenwashing.
The training took place within the framework of the GreenGuard – Mobilising Digital Solutions for Genuine Environmental Progress project, co-financed by Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships in Youth.
The ToT was designed with a dual purpose: on one hand, to test and validate the EcoTruth 101: Decoding Greenwashing Non-Formal Education Program and Toolkit in practice, ensuring their effectiveness, inclusiveness, and adaptability; on the other, to serve as a capacity-building step, equipping youth workers with concrete methods to integrate anti-greenwashing education into their ongoing work with young people.
This pilot forms part of a wider European effort that brings together non-formal education, digital innovation, and international cooperation to address misleading environmental claims and promote authentic sustainability. By connecting organisations and practitioners across borders, the project aims to create practical resources-such as toolkits, training programs, and digital platforms-that empower young people to become informed and active contributors to environmental change.
During the training in Berlin, participants engaged in interactive workshops, case studies, and experiential activities to explore real-world examples of misleading environmental claims and their effects on public trust and climate action. The methodology relied on the non-formal education approaches of the EcoTruth 101: Decoding Greenwashing” program, ensuring accessibility for different learning styles while fostering critical thinking and peer-to-peer exchange.
Feedback from participants highlighted both the quality and impact of the training. On average, overall satisfaction was rated 4.9 out of 5, with participants praising the engaging activities and the relevance of the content.
Importantly, self-assessed knowledge of greenwashing rose significantly-from an average of 1.9 before the training to 4.7 afterwards. Similarly, participants confidence in equipping young people to counter greenwashing increased from 1.8 to 4.4. An average score of 4.8 out of 5 also highlights that participants also felt that their voices were heard and their expertise valued throughout the process.
Conducting this Pilot Training activity was fundamental to test the approach in practice, refine the proposed methodology of EcoTruth 101, and strengthen the partners’ capacity to implement the upcoming local tests in Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Croatia.
EcoTruth 101 stands as a key step in equipping youth workers with tools to critically address environmental misinformation. By combining the validation of new educational methods with the direct upskilling of practitioners, the training ensures that the fight against greenwashing will continue well beyond this activity-embedded in the daily practices of youth work across Europe.
The pilot training activity, led by Youth Power Germany, was carried out by the Greenguard Project consortium of four organisations:
